Samford University president, daughter share college leadership roles

Andrew Westmoreland serves as president of Samford University. His daughter, Riley, serves as student government president. (The Birmingham News / Beverly Taylor)

During his 14 years as a university president, Andrew Westmoreland has maintained close relationships with student leaders, often inviting the student government president over to dinner at his house.

Westmoreland, who has been president at Samford University since 2006 and was at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas for eight years before that, took that family approach to another level this fall.

His daughter, Riley, was elected president of the Student Government Association in the spring. Westmoreland's dinners with student leaders now include a student president who has been dining with him and his wife, Jeanna, since she ate baby food.

"It's really weird," Riley said.

Westmoreland said he never pressured his daughter to attend Samford, where she is now a senior majoring in political science and journalism-mass communication, graduating in May 2012.

"I really didn't think she was considering Samford," he said. "My wife and I were among the last to know."

Riley visited other college campuses and took a long time to decide that Samford was the best fit for her.

"I resisted at first," she said.

Her predecessors as Samford student government leaders had a lot to do with her decision by serving as role models on their visits to meet with her dad. "We always had a lot of Samford students at the house," Riley said. "They were the kind of people I wanted to be like."

The fact her father was president at Samford was beside the point, she said.

"I didn't want people to think, 'Oh, they made her go to Samford.' There wasn't any pressure, ever."

Westmoreland said he and his wife, who was dean of education at Ouachita and now serves as executive director of Samford's volunteer support group, Legacy League, didn't want to steer Riley's choice.

"We've seen situations where parents were too involved in making decisions for their kids," Westmoreland said. "We wanted her to make her own decision."

Riley, an only child, has lived in campus housing all four years at Samford; her parents live in a house that overlooks campus just a few blocks away.

Westmoreland published a book in 2005, "Leading by Design," in which he analyzed Jesus' leadership methods with the 12 disciples.

Riley admits she hasn't read her father's book on leadership from cover to cover. "I've read most of it," she said. "I've got an autographed copy."

He also teaches an introductory political science course, which she skipped by using her advanced placement credits.

She's learned from her father in other ways, though, and looks up to him. "My dad's great," she said.

She decided on her own to get involved in student government and run for president, with no pressure from her parents, she said.

"I could have come to Samford and not gotten involved in student government and they would have been fine with it," Riley said.

Westmoreland said he has always had good working relationships with student government leaders, and wondered if his daughter being student government president would present any problems.

"I was a little anxious about it at the beginning," Westmoreland said. "I've had to listen a little more carefully when she's speaking with this voice as the SGA president."

Westmoreland asked her what she would say if students questioned her ability to stand up to the university president. "She said, 'I've had more experience standing up to the Samford administration than anybody on campus.'"

Being the president's daughter gave her an edge, Riley said.

"This is my dad," she said. "I know when his no means maybe, and I know when his no means no. If I don't know, I'll ask Mom."

As a student government executive board member and now president, Riley has helped oversee student activities, such as what concerts and speakers to bring to campus.

"You're never going to make everybody happy," she said. "Hopefully we can make everybody happy at least once."

She has also worked with the administration to answer students' concerns, such as dissatisfaction about the guidelines on convocation credits required to graduate from Samford. All students are required to accrue 60 "convo" credits, including attendance at the weekly campus chapel services. The credits had to be spread across five categories, with a minimum and maximum in each category. The students wanted more flexibility in how to get their credits counted. Riley and other student government leaders successfully pushed for more flexibility in the policy.

Student government board members meet weekly and they meet with Westmoreland and his staff monthly.

"I didn't realize it really could be a full-time job if you let it be," Riley said of her presidency.

They've still got a semester left, but so far the president-to-president relationship has gone smoothly.

"I've never had an adversarial relationship with an SGA president," Westmoreland said. "To this point, this relationship is still in good shape."

Riley, now home on Christmas break after finals and Saturday's commencement, agreed. "I think we're going to make it," she said. "We're planning to spend Christmas together."